Cigarette lighter ban begins

Starting Thursday, air travelers have to leave their lighters at home.

Unlike guns, knives and other dangerous items that a passenger cannot carry aboard but may stow in checked bags, lighters are banned everywhere on a plane.

The rule change is expected to produce a large number of seizures of lighters even though airports, airlines and the government have been telling travelers for the past 45 days about the impending ban, reported the Associated Press.

The genesis for the ban was Richard Reid, who tried unsuccessfully to light explosives hidden in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001. He used matches.

The ban does not include matches. Passengers still may carry aboard a plane up to four books of safety matches. Not allowed on planes are “strike anywhere” matches, which can be struck using any abrasive surface.

Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, said the ban on lighters amounted to “silliness in the extreme.”